Walk Your Dog

Pet care seems like it’s all fun and games—and a cinch to boot: “Greet your dog. Groom your dog. Feed your dog,” instructs the narrator. But the slyly funny, watercolor-and-pencil pictures tell a different story. The girl protagonist soon discovers that her scruffy, affectionate, and boundlessly energetic dog has ideas—and a personality—of his own. He’s certainly not into being dressed up: Hudson offers a classic example of canine side-eye when the girl attempts to “dress your dog” with a tutu, bunny slippers, and other dog-unfriendly clothing from her closet. As for the titular walk, it turns into a frantic chase that careens through the park and right through a mud puddle. While the text doesn’t break its repetitive rhythm, it becomes more comically emphatic: “Chase your dog. Catch your dog.” But the crisis passes and even leads to a deeper mutual understanding, as well as a rollicking interspecies bath in the backyard pool. As readers will recognize early on, the owner and her dog are really two of a kind. Ages 3–7. Author and illustrator’s agent: Danielle Smith, Red Fox Literary. [em](June) [/em]